- The number of coronavirus infections is rising across a number of states across the country.
- While states like Florida and Texas recently experienced record-levels of new COVID-19 cases, states like Maine, Michigan, and Virginia are also seeing a noticeable uptick in coronavirus infections.
- A coronavirus vaccine may arrive as soon as late 2020, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The nearly three-month lockdown the United States endured earlier this year was supposed to help us put the coronavirus in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, the coronavirus is as much of a concern today as it was back in April and May. Due to a variety of factors — from states not taking the virus seriously to people not adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines — the coronavirus in recent weeks has started to spike in dozens of states across the country. And while many of the states hit hardest by an increase in COVID-19 infections are down south, we’re starting to see an uptick in infections in other parts of the country as well.
To this point, Newsweek recently highlighted nine states where the coronavirus is on the rise. By looking at data from Johns Hopkins University, the publication examined which states have seen a rise in daily average cases over a two-week period stretching from July 21 to August 3. When the dust settled, it was found that the following states are seeing an uptick in new coronavirus cases: Maine, Alaska, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Hawaii.
The data from a state like Virginia is interesting to look at because it shows that while some states are seeing some mini-spikes in COVID-19 infections, it doesn’t necessarily mean that states are seeing record levels of infections. From Newsweek:
Virginia
- Day 1 (July 21): 987.67
- Day 14 (August 3): 1,150
- Highest daily case count in 14-day period: 1,236 on July 26
- Lowest daily case count in 14-day period: 936 on July 31
While Virginia has seen a few spikes in the latest 14-day period, including on July 26 and August 3, the average daily case counts in this period were still lower than the peak level reached on May 26, when it hit 1,335.
Similarly, Michigan has seen an increase in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks, but the situation isn’t as grave as it was back in early April when the state saw 1,757 infections on a single day.
The takeaway from this depends on your perspective. On the one hand, an increase in new coronavirus cases is happening in dozens of states across the country. On the other hand, there are only a few states — with Florida being a prime example — where the coronavirus recently rose to record-breaking levels.
Meanwhile, a federal report from last week listed 21 “red zone” states where the coronavirus is rising at a worrisome rate. That list includes Alabama, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
All told, the simple reality is that we’re not likely to move past the coronavirus until we can come up with an effective vaccine. In a best-case scenario, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that we’ll have a vaccine approved and ready to go by late 2020. Following that, Fauci believes we could have tens of millions of doses ready to go and administer to the public by early 2021.
